Last Bentley Azure rolls of the production line

Production of the Bentley Azure, the big British luxury four-seater cabriolet, has ended. The Azure, which had been built at the Crewe plant in the UK, was based on the Arnage saloon and was assembled entirely by hand. This means that the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe will have the market of super luxury cabriolets all to itself.

The end of the Azure also signifies the end of the Arnage platform, with the saloon being replaced with the new Mulsanne. In addition, the Brooklands coupe limited series of 550 units had already been reached.

For now, Bentley will turn its attention towards the production of the Mulsanne, which will be offered in several variants. It's likely that the first of these would be the new Azure, which might even have a four-door version.

It can be recalled that the current Bentley Azure was launched in 2006, using the Arnage platform. The big cabriolet is powered by the 6.75 liter V8 turbocharged engine, which has an output of 456hp and 645 lb-ft of torque (875 Nm). This car, which weighs 2.7 tons, is able to sprint from zero to 62 mph in 5.9 seconds and can reach a top speed of 171 mph (274 km/h).

In 2009, Bentley released the Azure T, a higher performance version that is powered by a twin turbocharged engine capable of delivering 507hp and 740 lb-ft of torque (1,000 Nm).

As a result, the car was able to accelerate from a standstill to 62mph in 5.5 seconds and can hit a top speed of 179 mph (288 km/h). It can be recalled that it was in 1995 that the first generation of the Azure was released.

It was built on the Continental R platform and was equipped by the same 6.75-liter V8 engine generating 400hp and 645 lb-ft of torque (875 Nm), which enables the car to get to 62mph in 6.1 seconds.